Notes

“During the years I spent in Europe studying there was always one idea in my mind – back to Africa, the country of my birth, the land of sunshine, of radiant colours, where the fruit grows so plentifully and the flowers seem to reach the summit of all joy …”[i] In this interview Irma Stern is candid about her enthusiasm for the light and colour particular to Africa. Her passion for fruit and flowers is made palpable in this painting which retains all the vigour and vitality of her best years.

For Irma Stern the genre of still life not only allowed her to indulge her greatest passions – the visceral pleasures of food and the exquisite beauty of nature – but it was also the ideal vehicle for exploring the nature of art freed from the constraints of a slavish attachment to perceived reality.

The bold forms of what are probably heliconia or Lobster Claw flowers strike a daring note with their flaming red colour and dramatic shapes. Exotic to South Africa, they would have been favoured by Stern not only for their fleshy seeds that attract birds to the garden, but also for their evergreen foliage, ideal for use as a cut flower filler.

Stern loved being surrounded by fresh flowers. The jug could be one of her own handmade glazed earthenware jugs in which she loved to arrange fresh flowers, often picked from her garden at The Firs in Rosebank. It resembles the ceramic jug which she made and decorated with two nudes in 1949.[ii]

Stern’s sophisticated understanding of the power of complementary colours enabled her to heighten the drama of her composition. Rich, buttery yellow petals and tangerine pollen-laden stamens of the lilies lend a sunny warmth while the fiery reds and oranges of the leaves, the peach tones of the fruit and the warm sienna hues of the table vibrate against the green heliconia and fern leaves.  

One of the best works of her later period, the painting is an exuberant expression of her powerful personality. As a sublime work of art, it combines her intuitive understanding of the complex logic of picture-making with years of practice in perfecting her craft.

[i] Cape Argus, 3 April 1926.

[ii] See Catalogue of the Collections of the Irma Stern Museum. Cape Town: University of Cape Town. Page 18, no 167, 222/5/D and Wilhelm van Rensburg. (2003) Irma Stern: Expressions of a Journey. Illustrated in colour on page 143.